The complete vacation rental setup checklist: What to buy for your Airbnb or VRBO

Setting up a vacation rental takes more than one furniture order and a trip down the linens aisle. The hosts who do it well work from a plan: they buy in the right order, stock what guests actually expect, and get the quantities right the first time so they're not making a midnight supply run during their first turnover.

This is the checklist we use ourselves when it comes to purchasing timelines, the eleven zones every property has to cover, the amenities that affect how often listings get seen, and the quantity rules that trip people up most.

The full room-by-room checklist, with exact counts for every item, lives in our free download at the bottom of the page. You can use it as a tactical resource every time you are setting up a new property.

When to buy everything for a short-term rental

Start at least eight weeks before your listing goes live. Furniture ships slowest and are the most likely to show up damaged or the wrong size, so that order goes first. Everything else stacks behind it. Having done this more times than we can count as a team, however, we know that the only place perfect timelines exist are in vacation-rental fairy tales. Operating within time and budget constraints is all part of the game, and we're here to support to the extent that we can regardless. So take these timelines as what they are meant to be, general guidelines.

• 8 weeks out: Order furniture and other large pieces that will be the anchors of your design.
• 6 weeks out: Order sheets, towels, and other linens in sets of three.
• 4 weeks out: Order mattresses, kitchen supplies, rugs, wall decor, amenities and the rest of your supplies to fill out the rental.

Two things people tend to underestimate, and/or don't account for here:

1. Supply chain delays are still real, so pad each window if your calendar allows it.
2. Again, if you don't have eight weeks, you're not stuck. Sourcing in-stock, ready-to-ship items is one of the things our member team helps with directly. We juggle timelines every day, know what will/won’t arrive within a given timeframe, and can help you find alternatives to get your STR running on-time, and on-budget.

What every short-term rental needs, room by room

Our checklist is organized into eleven zones. Cover all of them and your setup is complete.

1. Living room: seating, a media setup, lighting, and the soft goods that help you avoid the dreaded “Airbnb designer” look.
2. Dining room: table, seating, and storage if there’s room.
3. Entryway: a landing spot for shoes and keys, a doormat, and a welcome book with your house rules and local tips.
4. Kitchen: appliances, cookware, tabletop, utensils, and a stocked pantry.
5. Bedrooms: bed, mattress, nightstands, and a full linen set per bed.
6. Bathrooms: towels, bath mats, and the toiletries guests expect to find.
7. Laundry and storage: washer, dryer, vacuum, a basic tool kit, and cleaning supplies.
8. Safety: smoke and CO detectors, a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit, and your smart lock or lockbox.
9. Outdoors: whatever your space supports, from a lounge set to a grill to pool safety gear.
10. Extra entertainment: the niche draws (game tables, arcade machines) that attract a specific guest.
11. Pets: bowls, beds, and cleanup supplies if you allow them.

Download the full checklist PDF for a tactical copy with expanded details on specifically what to do in order to get your property ready to host at the highest level.

Essentials vs. nice-to-haves

Within each checklist category, there are two sections: Essentials and Nice-to-haves. Essentials are what guests expect and what review scores punish you for missing: a working kitchen, clean linens, reliable wifi, basic toiletries, safety gear. Nice-to-haves are the differentiators that earn the five-star mention: a record player, a real coffee station, bikes, etc.

IMPORTANT: Buy every essential before you spend a dollar on the extras.

The amenities Airbnb and VRBO guests filter for when searching

Our checklist also shows you the amenities that potential guests can filter by when searching on Airbnb and VRBO. A guest who filters for "dishwasher" or "pool" never sees the properties that left those boxes unchecked. Stocking more of the commonly filtered amenities (and remembering to properly tag them for your property) means your listing shows up in more of those searches.

The amenities Airbnb and VRBO guests filter for when searching

• Bluetooth speakers or sound systems
• Dishwasher
• Coffee maker
• Microwave
• TV
• Pool or hot tub towels
• A grill

Even board games and a stocked kids' setup can put you in filtered results your competitors miss. Long story short, be thorough in how you tag amenities in your listing.

How much of each item do you actually need?

Buy in multiples of your guest count, not by feel. Two rules handle most of the confusion across the main areas where you'll want to focus on stock:

1. Place settings: Stock two per guest in the kitchen (plates, bowls, glasses, and flatware)
2. Linens: Stock three bath towel sets per guest in the bathroom, and 3 sheet sets per bed (aka 3-PAR)

Under-stock either one and your cleaning team can run short mid-turnover, or you'll feel the pressure to make emergency purchases due to loss or breakage.

When stocking either, we make it simple. We've sourced the best products and done the math for you with the HostGPO KitchenBox, BedBox, and BathBox.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to set up a short-term rental?

Plan for a minimum of eight weeks from first purchase to going live. Order furniture eight or more weeks out, linens at six weeks, and mattresses, kitchen, decor, amenities, and supplies at four weeks.

What are the essentials every Airbnb needs?

A functional kitchen, clean linens for every bed, reliable wifi, basic bathroom toiletries, and safety gear (smoke and CO detectors, a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit). These are what guests expect and what reviews will penalize you for missing.

How many towels and sheets do I need per guest?

Start with three bath towels per guest (an industry-standard practice known as 3-PAR). Sheet counts depend on bed size and how many linen sets you keep in rotation, which is covered in the full checklist.

What does PAR mean in supply and rentals?

Periodic Automatic Replacement. It's just a fancy term for the baseline level of an item that a rental unit should keep on hand. Not to be confused with the standard scoring in golf. Generally speaking, a good rule of thumb is to keep three sets of linens on hand (3-PAR) and two sets of table settings (2-PAR).

And if you do happen to be anywhere near 2 or 3 under par on a golf course, let us know your swing coach!

What amenities do Airbnb and VRBO guests filter for the most?

Common filters include a dishwasher, wifi, a coffee maker, a hair dryer, a pool or hot tub, and a grill. Stocking more filtered amenities means appearing in more filtered searches.

Why hosts get value out of this checklist

HostGPO is a team of hosts and property managers ourselves. This checklist represents our collective years running and setting up short-term rental properties, whether it’s a single cabin in the woods or thousands of different types of properties all across the country. Every item and note exists because someone learned it (often times the hard way).

How to save on your vacation rental setup

It’s also important to note that our checklist also connects to actual savings. HostGPO is an exclusive buying group specifically for vacation rental operators. Our members save up to 75% off furniture, linens, mattresses, amenities, and supplies through direct partnerships with vendors like Crate & Barrel, Amazon, Lowe’s, Samsung, Standard Textile (the hospitality linens used by all the major hotels), Brooklinen, and more.

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